Jermaine O’Neal is one of the forgotten stars of the 2000s, not a lot of people remember him with the respect that he deserves for having made it on to 6 All-Star teams in his time as well as making it to 3 All-NBA teams after having been one of the youngest rookies ever. And while many stars have caught flak in recent years for joining certain teams just to win titles, O’Neal might be one of the few players that instead walked away from a sure thing.
In 2009, O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat, and even though he maintained his career averages and helped the team get to the playoffs, O’Neal didn’t end up staying on the team. He explained the reasoning behind his decision to move on from the Heat despite it being the summer that LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Dwyane Wade in South Beach, forming a team that would win multiple titles:
“Listen, I’m gonna be honest. I’m gonna start with Miami. They wanted me to re-sign. I knew that Bron and them was coming, and this is the realest thing I could tell y’all: You know they got that 8% body fat, that sh*t is serious. For a big guy, that’s heavy lifting.”
“I remember going into the pantry at night, looking at the Oreos, the Oreos looking at me. And I couldn’t – Bruh, I am in a full battle, daily, on what I ate. And I was like, ‘Bruh, I’m 30-plus years old, I can’t go through this.’ So I was like, ‘Bruh, I’m too old to be having a debate whether I want to have an Oreo or not.’ Right? I can’t do that sh*t. So That’s why I left Miami.”
O’Neal was a solid player at the center or power forward position for several teams during his prime, and he didn’t have a lot left to prove by the end of his career. His story is a testament to the sacrifices winning teams have to make to get to the very top and why not a lot of players can make it happen either. And the Heat may have won their championships and had a great time doing it, but it’s safe to say that O’Neal probably enjoyed his Oreos quite a bit, too.
